I was having this grand impersonal discussion about the Indian Economic and Social Scenario with my parents yesterday which turned into a debate, a personal attack and then into a war minus the bullets and tanks....What was so heated about this discussion is something i still cannot exactly fathom.
The discussion started off as a result of my current train of thought.i was wondering about India as a growing economy and its quest for being a Superpower - THE GRAND INDIAN DREAM!! True that a lot of development has taken place in India from what it was in 1947.However, there is still an uneven distribution of development in the country which results in such disparity that some people do not even comprehend the conditions of "the Other"! Only a handful of people ( with due respect )-the politicians, industrialists, actors and cricketers, to name a few, get to see "Fortune" but in a land of over a billion people (1,129,866,154 (July 2007 est.)),it is a pity that money is concentrated only in a few pockets and the rest either live in extremely unhealthy, unthinkable conditions and circumstances or die of poverty and unemployment.The options available to them are extremely LIMITED, to say the least.
The IT sector may have boomed but the basic amenities are still to be provided to the people.The Agricultural sector has hardly flourished so has Research and Development, the Co-operate world is still limited to certain cosmopolitan cities.Tourism seems to be the prime focus nowadays but are we really taking care of our tourist attractions?Well, I happen to visit many places of public interest and several tourist attractions as well, but i do not quite see any difference despite the very successful " INCREDIBLE INDIA " campaign.Retail has progressed but what about basic housing, food and education facilities to one and all in a democracy?Can we equate development with a handful of malls, multiplexes, call centres or cooperate offices?Can we Equate the entire Indian Development with the development of a handful of individuals?I guess Not!
It is a pity that we spend so much of our currency on entertainment (that can range from movies to television to sports) when we do not even have the basics....Sure, Entertainment is necessary but there are far more important sectors and issues that need to be addressed before concentrating on entertainment.It is not fair that people go without food for months at end and with no education in a country that spends so much on entertainment..IPL, BIG BUDGET PLAGIARISED MOVIES ET ALL.Not REALLY FAIR AT ALL!!I'm not targeting singular events..but just see what we are doing, where we are heading!!
In India, innumerable people go without food and shelter..Lack of proper housing facilities, natural calamities and unhygienic conditions are a common phenomenon as are open drains which are a seat for common household pests, poor road connectivity, shortage of clean drinking water etc.There may be primary schools and health care centres but their numbers are so low and the quality so inferior that it cannot even be talked about.53% children are deprived of basic health care facilities.India has one of the highest infant mortality rates.The sheer lack of good hospitals and medical facilities speaks a lot.An article on Page 14 - Editorial Section in The Times Of India Ahmedabad Edition, Dated May 9, 2008 bears witness to this phenomenon :
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIA&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T&AW=1210327759484
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/TOI/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOIA%2F2008%2F05%2F09&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T&PageLabel=14&EntityId=Ar01406&AppName=1
Child, Interrupted
Our record in health care for children is shameful
Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss is very concerned about what he calls the negative impact of movie scenes where heroes drink alcohol on young, impressionable minds. Perhaps he would like to turn his ministry’s attention to the abysmal state of public health in our country. Report after report damns the state of health-care facilities in India. The latest data on child health care paint a shameful picture. About 53 per cent of children aged below five — that’s a huge 67 million of them — make do without basic medical facilities. That includes access to prenatal care, skilled childbirth, immunisation and treatment for diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The report brought out by a reputable global NGO — Save the Children — compared 55 countries. And India, a country that has superpower aspirations and is proud of its robust growth, ties with Ghana and Eritrea for the 27th rank. According to the study, 66 per cent of the poorest children in India receive negligible or no health care. The figure stands at 31 per cent for those who are well off. The statistics only get more shocking: over a million children die annually before they turn a month old. That’s mostly because they have no access to primary health centres. Even when they do, what greets them is often a woefully ill-equipped shed. Poor maternal health — caused largely, but not exclusively, by malnourishment — only compounds the problem.
One disturbing fact the report throws up is the gender survival gap, which is widening. Between the ages of one and five, for every five boys who die, eight girls die. The report cites less money spent on girls’ health compared with boys as one of the major reasons for the survival gap. For instance, in Punjab the expenditure on medical care in the first two years after birth for boys is 2.3 times higher than that for girls. This is a telling comment on the deep-rooted gender bias in our society, which cuts across economic classes and does not spare even those who are well educated.
Many Indians might be adopting modern lifestyles but mindsets remain largely medieval. It is clear that education alone is not going to help us bridge the divide. Our education system is part of a prejudiced sociocultural matrix and often reflects it. Gender bias is further reinforced by skewed representations of women in popular culture, as seen in our movies, television soaps and advertisements. If we are to close the gap, the realm of popular culture might be a good place to start effecting change, not in drinking habits but in social attitudes.
In our country, the lack of good schools and the meagre salaries of teachers are a hindrance to quality education and mental development.There are places where people go without food for days.Schools do not reach these places and the quality of living keeps deteriorating.Those who do not agree can visit such places and then disagree.
In fact, Higher Education facilities are extremely limited.The lack of seats in any Higher Education Institute or University and the lack of choices prevent Research and Development.Mostly, people run for courses not for their choice but for the pay package because that alone gives you the " elite status ".Very few people actually get to do what they wish to do and when they go against the wind, the options for growth and respect do exist but they are limited.It is really sad..and i am not talking about those people who go abroad for higher education but those who stay in the country.
An Enormous Population and Corruption are the two great evils that mar our progress.Whatever development takes place is not enough because it does not cater to the gigantic population which is never static.Plus, whatever is made needs to be remade, whatever is built needs to be rebuilt every two months, every two years..Thanks to the Corrupt, Mendacious system and the sheer lack of Dignity of labour and the lack of Public sense of individuals.
A country aiming to be a Super Power primarily needs to get its priorities right.Nuclear weapons like Agni may be good for Defence but what about the people whom the country must needs Defend??Basic Food, Water, Clothing, Education and Health Facilities for one and all (people residing in cities,suburbs, villages and on plain land) along with good public services like Transport, Irrigation, Sanitation, Communication, Research etc. are extremely crucial for the proper and equal development of the nation.I just hope that we do not ignore the BASICS to achieve the COMPLEX!!
